Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2013 May 18

= May 18 =

Bell connection process loading slow
Is there a page or department on Bell's website that I can complain about the slow connection speed? Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.31.22.229 (talk) 00:21, 18 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Try here. Good luck! --Yellow1996 (talk) 01:21, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

studying MS in computerscience
My son got admission in UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND INDIANA UNIVERSITY BLOOMINGTON AT USA .Which is better?.We are from India.So pl advise which one would be betteras he is more inclined to do research and he is from prestigious institute in India say IIT. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.206.107.212 (talk) 09:40, 18 May 2013 (UTC)
 * The University of Texas has several campuses. If this is the Austin campus, it was ranked by US News and World Report in 2010 as #8 in the USA in Computer Science.  Indiana University Bloomington was ranked #53. Looie496 (talk) 14:27, 18 May 2013 (UTC)


 * I agree. If it is U of Texas at Austin, that is the better one.  Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 02:32, 19 May 2013 (UTC)


 * It depends on your son's criteria for "better". There can be more to attending a university then raw results in a league table.  He might like to consider the quality of university life in Austin, Texas or Bloomington, Indiana, the cost of living (and the course), or maybe the cultural life of Indian Americans, access to places of worship, or the availability of familiar foods, for example.  Astronaut (talk) 19:19, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

Windows 8
My wife and I are in our 60's and have used Windows XP on our Desktop for several years now, without difficulty or complaint. But the Dell Tower is now about 9 years old and is developing problems that are annoying us to the point we recently decided to go for an iPad 4 (brilliant touchscreen facility for my wife who has severe arthritis in her hands.) And we decided to get a Toshiba Laptop to replace the desktop about 3 weeks ago. I had heard of Windows 8 but had never seen it but was keen to learn all about it. But I am afraid it is so far removed from XP that I doubt we shall ever fully get used to it. Frankly, I would rather get rid of Windows 8 and revert to XP. Is that possible, and if so, how do I go about achieving that? I have downloaded all my important files, documents, pictures and music to an external hard drive so am not afraid of losing any data etc., so thanks for your advice in anticipation. Or else - should I just persist and hope for a "Road to Damascus moment." 77.99.122.161 (talk) 11:36, 18 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Windows 7 has been quite well received, it looks like Microsoft alternates between good versions and bad versions of Windows. The problem with XP is they will be ending all support for it next year so you wouldn't get fixes for the latest exploits on the web. Dmcq (talk) 13:54, 18 May 2013 (UTC)
 * On the other hand you might like to wait a month for Windows 8.1 as lots of people have complained about the changes so the may provide a bit more for those upgrading. And who knows in the interim you my be converted anyway and go all glassy eyed chanting 'I love Windows 8. Windows 8 is my friend'. ;-) Dmcq (talk) 14:07, 18 May 2013 (UTC) Dmcq (talk) 14:07, 18 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Sorry that was the preview date, general release will be later but it will be a free upgrade. Dmcq (talk)


 * I heard that the expected release date is August. Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 02:37, 19 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I'm not entirely clear from the question whether you already have Windows 8 and don't like it, or if you are merely thinking of getting it and are worried you won't like it. If it's the latter, I would suggest you go for it. It really isn't so different from XP as the Internet would have you believe - almost everything works the way you'd expect, it's just sometimes kept in a different place. And, as always with Windows products, if you have a problem you can bet that others will have had the same problem - a quick Google for 'how do I find x on Windows 8' normally does the trick. You mention you've been using XP for a while: that and the fact that you've been able to get along with the ipad suggest to me that you're no mugs, and that you'll be just fine with Windows 8. Also, there is a substantial change to Windows 8 which is coming up in July, which is apparently supposed to improve the user experience and bring it closer to how Windows 7 (and hence XP) was. The updates might provide your Road to Damascus moment. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 14:10, 18 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Good point about Google. See this Tech Support Cheat Sheet for how the usual problems using PCs are solved. Dmcq (talk) 14:19, 18 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Windows 8 does have a way to get to the desktop, but it is missing the start button. But you can make it behave more like Windows 7 (with a start button) by installing a program like classic Shell (free) or RetroUI ($5) - see List of Start Menu replacements for Windows 8.  Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 02:37, 19 May 2013 (UTC)


 * ^ This. Classic Shell can actually make everything work pretty much just like XP, nevermind 7. ¦ Reisio (talk) 10:35, 19 May 2013 (UTC)


 * If found the Learn Windows 8 app reasonably helpful.
 * If you decide that Windows 8 is just too different, it may be worth running Windows 7 instead. It's not a big step from XP in terms of user interface. (Although for every useful new feature 7 added, they seem to have removed a useful XP feature. I'm not convinced that 7 is better than XP.) Mitch Ames (talk) 03:28, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Making city infobox montages?
I am aware these aren't made on Wikipedia, but since Wikipedia users make them, could some link me or instruct me on how to make one with Photoshop? 121.220.222.63 (talk) 14:32, 18 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Maybe this will help you. Good Luck! --Yellow1996 (talk) 01:35, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

Blender reference images
Trying to make a model in blender, and it doesn't seem to have a button for 'do the thing I just told you to do'

I've followed the tutorials closely, and managed to create a texture with the reference image I want, and assign it to both the world background and a plane behind my model, but the image doesn't appear except when I render it, which is of no use to anyone, I've pushed every button I can find, and changed all the settings, but nothing works. 213.104.128.16 (talk) 16:48, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

Aha, I've found the problem, the texture has come up entirely transparent, that explains why I had trouble finding the surface it was on too, any idea how to fix this? 213.104.128.16 (talk) 17:00, 18 May 2013 (UTC)